by Debbie Besseling
A South African engineer has recently been awarded the Professional Traffic Operations Engineer® (PTOE) qualification from the Transport Professional Certification Board, an affiliate of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). Revash Dookhi is the first recipient of the prestigious qualification in the country.
At work: Revash Dookhi (right) is a Chief Civil Engineer for the eThekwini Transport Authority.
Dookhi is the chief civil engineer in the Traffic Engineering branch of the Road System Management Department of eThekwini Transport Authority. He holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and is a registered Professional Civil Engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). His career in civil engineering commenced some 12 years ago in the consulting industry where he has been involved in some of South Africa’s flagship transportation projects.
Speaking about the qualification, Dookhi says in any country, transportation is a key aspect in fostering economic growth. “In South Africa we are faced with specific challenges relating to transport accessibility, affordability and road safety. All of these challenges are related to transport planning and traffic operations. As traffic engineers we are responsible for designing efficient transport systems related to minimising transport cost, ensuring safety and good levels of transport service or operations. Consequently, it is important that practitioners in the field have a specialist professional registration in order to provide the public, employers and clients with the assurance that the required specialty skills and knowledge are held by the practitioner, in developing and designing transport systems and related requirements,” comments Dookhi.
About the PTOE qualification
The key requirements for the qualification are that the individual must be a registered professional engineer with four years of Professional Traffic Operations Engineering experience. Dookhi was required to write a six hour examination that tested specific knowledge areas as below, which cover a comprehensive spectrum of all aspects of transportation:
- Traffic Operations Analysis
- Operational Effects of Geometric Designs
- Traffic Safety
- Traffic Control Devices
- Traffic Engineering Studies
- Social, Environmental and Institutional Issues
PTOE is a person who has demonstrated, through examination, professional experience, and continuing education, expertise in these knowledge areas. There are currently 3 196 registered PTOEs worldwide.
Meeting the needs of the South African transport sector
Commenting on how this qualification will assist him with his work in the South African transportation industry, Dookhi says he considers this qualification to be an essential requirement for any practitioner specialising in traffic engineering. The principles of traffic engineering are available in the guidelines and standards that are used by practitioners for carrying or implementing the requirements of the field. Most of these principles have been initiated and developed by international organisations such as the Transport Research Board, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials as well as the ITE. These organisations have been at the forefront of developing principles and guidelines in transportation engineering since 1920, and give due recognition to the PTOE certification in application of these developed transportation principles and standards, which are used worldwide, and have been adapted to suit local conditions such as South Africa.
“It is advantageous to be recognised and registered as a specialist transportation engineer that provides the credentials in the application of various transportation principles and standards. Consequently, I believe that being registered as a PTOE will provide a level of assurance to the public, employers and clients that the required speciality skills and knowledge are held with the professional in executing the requirements of transportation engineering” says Dookhi.
A qualification that meets SA’s challenges
Dookhi says that it is essential that a specialised professional certification is developed in South Africa for transportation engineering. “In general, the civil engineering field has a number of specialised disciplines without specific professional recognition for the individual disciplines in South Africa. This has led to instances where transportation related studies and designs are carried out by registered professionals in civil engineering without the relevant or in-depth knowledge of transportation engineering. This has resulted in several challenges related to the economic viability of development from a land use point of view as well as increased public risk in terms transport safety and costs,” he says.
The need for a professional certification specifically for transportation engineering is supported by Madeleen Engelbrecht, Chair of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering’s (SAICE) Transportation Engineering Division. The division is currently initiating a holistic development programme for South African traffic and transportation engineers that recognises the challenges facing the industry. “We need to establish traffic and transportation planning as a specialist discipline within the wider engineering and planning environment. It is important that the value of robust planning practice and well considered decision making is appreciated at a political and industry level. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure transport systems are considered and planned in a holistic way by growing the number of well-rounded transport planners in government and private practice, says Engelbrecht.
In closing, Dookhi says: “I would like to encourage all transport engineering practitioners in South Africa to be registered as professional transportation engineers. I consider it important that fellow transportation engineers motivate to ECSA and SAICE for the development of a specialised professional certification in transportation engineering”.
